Our Region, Our Vision, Our Future

“I want to be a part of this and help shape future opportunities for this county,” he said.

On Monday, residents of Matagorda County met at the Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture to participate in an interactive community survey.

The community planning session was held by AECOM.

“It is very important that we take this opportunity to invent a future vision for the 13-county Houston Galveston area,” said Nate McDonald, Matagorda County Judge.

The $3.7 million sustainable community’s regional planning grant was received by the Houston-Galveston Area Council and consortium of community partners to develop a regional plan for sustainable development in the 13-county Texas Gulf Coast Planning Region.

“This plan will serve as the blue print to the development and investments of the future,” said Liz Drake, community engagement team facilitator.

The two year plan, scheduled to conclude in 2014, looks at current conditions in critical areas like housing, transportation infrastructure, environment, economic development, and healthy community, she said.

This is an opportunity to look ahead at what the county and region will look like in the future, she said.

The process is driven by local involvement that include a regional partnership of residents, business owners, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and local government representatives, said Drake.

Facilitators worked with each group, brain storming ideas to examine how the region might change over the next 30 years.

“We are here to listen to you and gather your ideas for this plan,” she said.

This plan is about maintaining and improving quality of life, she added.

Residents who attended the session were asked questions that rated various issues that pertained to community sustainability including issues in the community, regional that were a major issue.

The plan explored opportunities to improve the region’s most important resources, including clean air, water, good jobs and safe and attractive neighborhoods and affordable housing.

“The input today will set the goals and priorities of the plan,” she said.